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Saturday, February 8, 2014

The Lego Movie has quick wit, gags and fun for all ages

Movie Title:The Lego Movie

Grade:A-

In a Nutshell:Quick-witted fun for all ages, as well as
obvious Lego lovers.While raising 4
boys, I’ve sucked up my share of miscellaneous Lego pieces on the carpet with
my vacuum cleaner over the years, as well as stepped on the sharp plastic
corners in the middle of the night one too many times, but I still love
Legos.Actually, the plural of Lego is
Lego, so I should change that last sentence, but I won’t because I’m as sassy
as the movie.

I lived only a few blocks away from LegoLand
in Carlsbad, California
for 6 years and even had an annual membership.That theme park is simply adorable and a truly fun amusement park for
the whole family.One of the things I
love about LegoLand
is its keen sense of humor and that it doesn’t take itself so
seriously.This movie is exactly that.

The jokes fly fast and furiously and the story line is
surprisingly thought-out with a couple of sweet twists in the end.It feels like free-flowing play itself with
the satisfaction you get after building something well.

Uplifting theme:Like most movies with Morgan Freeman in
them, his character says the bulk of the inspiring lines in the film.

“The
only thing you need to be special is to believe that you are.”- Vitruvius

“We
all have something that makes us something.” – Emmet’s co-worker

Emmet
worries “What do I do?I don’t have
my instructions!” illustrates the importance of imagination and
creativity.

“Believe.Then you will see everything.”- Vitruvius

“You
have to embrace what is special about you.”- Vitruvius

Things I liked:

I
can’t get that “Everything is awesome!” song out of my head

I love
quick wit.This movie’s jam is
quick wit.

The
water in the shower, hot tub bubbles, and ocean white caps were fantastic

I
loved how Emmet did Jumping Jacks

Frequent
use of plastic Lego flames.It’s
amazing how often they were able to use them.

I
thought it was cute how they tied in the use of instructions into the
theme of the movie.Emmet begins showing
each step he takes in the morning, as if he’s writing instructions for you
to follow.Later, the good guys
create a step-by-step plan to defeat the bad guys, identifying the correct
order for you to follow.

Twist
ending

Things I didn’t like:

No need
to pay extra money for 3D.There is almost too much stimulation
and the whole film is a bit manic, similar to Christmas morning when
wonderful presents and wrapping paper are strewn everywhere.

My
little kids were too smart to recognize that when everyone gets a trophy
for just paying to be on a Little League baseball team, then the trophy
isn’t worth anything.They hated
being told “Everyone is special” because that meant to them that nobody was
special.This movie has a bit of
that philosophy in it, although it tries to point out that everyone is special
for different reasons.

Cloud
Cocoaland?I thought they could
have come up with something more clever than that.

Funny lines: The
adults were laughing more than the kids.Parents won’t have to suffer through this children’s animated movie.A lot of the humor will go over kids’ heads,
and the wit happens so fast that you’re sure to miss some of it too.

“Come
with me if you want to not die.” – Wyldstyle/Lucy

“Place
the thing on the other thing and save the universe.”- Vitruvius

“We’ll
wing it.It’s a bat pun.”-Batman

“You
don’t know me, but I’m on TV, so you can trust me.” – Wyldstyle/Lucy

“Let’s
take extra care to follow the instructions or you’ll be put to sleep.And don’t forget Taco Tuesday’s coming
next week.”- President Business

“I
only work in black.And sometimes
very, very dark grey.”- Batman

“Okay,
I think it got it.But just in
case, say it all over again.I
wasn’t listening.”- Emmet

“Do
you see the quotations I’m making with my claw hands?”- Bad cop/good cop

“Here
are your pants.End of
series.”- Wyldstyle/Lucy as she
walks onto the set of the popular TV show “Where are my pants?”

“Ow!That is going to start hurting pretty
soon.” – Emmet

“I
WILL text you.”- Batman

“This
has been the greatest almost 15 minutes of my life.”- Emmet

“I’m
dark and brooding.Look!A rainbow!”- Emmet

Things to look for:You need to pay attention, because clever
gags appear and disappear quickly, along with the rapid-fire wit.I’ll bet this film will do well with DVD
sales, because everyone will want to have the power to hit the pause button on
this one. There
are too many details to mention.The
Legoland amusement park has a “Minland” in the center of the park that is
unbelievably detailed with hidden gems everywhere. This movie is like that.

I’ve
never seen a surfer Lego dude with flowing, blonde hair!

Bubbles
in the hot tub in The Old West

Cool
Lego dust behind moving cars in the dirt

Lego
smoke blocks from a moving train

Tips for parents: Relax and rest easy on this one.All
of the profanity includes such lines as “Darn, darn, darny, darn” (Bad cop/good
cop) and “Dangit!” (Batman & Wonder Woman).Pretty nice, right?Someone calls
someone else a “butt”, but there is a surprisingy lack of toilet humor for a
kids movie.Nice, right?There is a budding romance, but no Lego
kissing. Merchandising for this movie is going to be huge.